Mooney M20J accident near Sunriver, Oregon, July 28, 2005
On July 28, 2005 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Mooney M20J, registered N110MP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sunriver, Oregon (Sunriver airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power as a result of both sets of magneto points failing to open due to excessive wear of the nylon cam followers. The excessive wear of the cam followers was due to maintenance personnel's failure to follow the magneto manufacturer's recommended maintenance procedures and inspect the cam follower felt pads for adequate lubrication at 100-hour intervals. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain available for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 28, 2005 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Sunriver, Oregon · Sunriver · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · all M20Js on the register
- Registration
- N110MP · registry record · serial 24-0873
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, while on the downwind leg for landing on runway 18, the engine "backfired, ran rough and quit." During the ensuing forced landing, the airplane collided with trees and terrain short of the runway. The left outer wing sustained structural damage. During an attempted engine run following the accident, the engine could not be started, and it was determined that both sets of magneto points were not opening. Inspection of the single-drive dual magneto found that the nylon cam followers on both sets of points were worn to the point that they could no longer open the contacts. The cam followers appeared to be burned and discolored due to a lack of lubrication. The felt pads mounted on the cam followers that are normally saturated with lubricating oil were found to be very dry. The magneto manufacturer's recommended maintenance instructions call for the cam follower felt pads to be inspected for the presence of adequate lubricating oil every 100 hours time in service. According to the airplane's maintenance records the points had accumulated 372.9 hours since installation on January 1, 2001. There were no entries found in the engine logbook indicating the points had been inspected since their installation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,544 hours in all; 1,165 in this make and model; 26 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 2,350 as pilot in command; 41 on instruments
- Last flight review: December 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,385 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 1, 2005; 24 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAC Sacramento CA at 5:00 pm
- Destination: S21 Sunriver OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 5,455 ft by 70 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from RDM, 26 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA05LA153.